The Toll

5 Million – Worldwide total deaths caused by tobacco every year.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
• 480,000 deaths,
• 1 out of 5 deaths each year,
• 1300 deaths every day.
• 42,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure

More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States during its history.

Overall mortality among smokers in the United States is 3X higher vs. people who never smoked.

Smoking is estimated to increase the risk:
• For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times1,6
• For stroke by 2 to 4 times1
• Of men developing lung cancer by 25 times1
• Of women developing lung cancer by 25.7 times

Secondhand Smoke

Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%.

Between 1960 and 1990, deaths from lung cancer among women increased by more than 500%.

On average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.

Myths about Tobacco:

#1: Almost no one smokes anymore.
Fact: About 1 in 5 people still smoke.#2: e-Cigarettes, cigars and hookahs are safe alternatives.
Fact: All tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and hookahs, have nicotine. And it’s nicotine’s highly addictive properties that make these products harmful.#3: Tobacco Myth #3: Infrequent, social smoking is harmless.
Fact: Any smoking, even social smoking, is dangerous. If you are a former smoker, data suggests that having just a single puff can send you back to smoking.#4: Smoking outside eliminates the dangers of secondhand smoke.
Fact: There is no risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Even brief secondhand smoke exposure can cause harm.